well. i ran about 16 miles today. something like 15.5 on my garmin, plus a bunch of faffing about i didn't hit resume for. so, let's just say it was 16.
it would be foolish to say i nailed it. also it would be false. but i think it's also safe to say i didn't actually get nailed.
the overall approach was, i think, a good one. a partner in trail crime and i drove to a set of looping trails by a nearby lake. the full loop takes about 3.5 miles. so we ran the loop twice. then we did a little dirt road running out of the woods and near the lake. then it had been nearly 10 miles. and it's 5.5 miles home from there, so i turned on my ipod and ran home.
the good news, let's start with the big things, is that my left hamstring/calf/back of knee wonkiness was never a problem, and also i didn't die. it was sunny but really gorgeous weather, so i definitely didn't overheat. and i don't think i'll have difficulty walking tomorrow or anything (er WE WILL SEE. there will be yoga.) actually, with respect to the previous injury business, i actually came up with a guess on thursday's run that i feel was vindicated today, so i'm going to write a separate post to remind myself about that later.
and i also think that the fact that 7 miles and change were on those trails matters -- they aren't steep or technical, but there's a lot of sand (harder to run) and gentle up and downs, and you keep having to pick up your feet for roots, so overall it slows you down a lot, and it also takes more effort. the fact that my pace over the miles was something like 10:20 should give you an indication of this, particularly when the last 6 were all but one between 9:30-9:50.
the less good news: the last 3 miles were not good. at some point around mile 11.5, i was worried i might start hurting my left leg (hint: i don't think i was), so i thought i'd walk a bit and then run again. i did that twice, but it apparently ANGERED the running gods, because i stopped to walk just because i had to, waiting for a light, at mile 13.5, and the back of my legs, hams and calves alike, announced that they were throwing a CRAMP PARTY and YOU ARE INVITED! it was tremendously unpleasant, and the thing is stretching didn't really seem to be what they wanted. what they wanted was that i not stop running. just run slowly. but you can't just run slowly! that hurts too! ... so, the last two miles were kind of death shuffly (although miraculously my pace wasn't too much slower, odd) and then a little bit of walking OW OW OW and then more shuffling. at 15.5 miles, i was two blocks from home, so i tried to briskly walk those and it was not comfortable. i started jogging again just to get home quicker, but again found that they actually cramped less that way. wtf? (oh and in the last .5 miles i tried to hold a strong pace, and i didn't hurt myself but i did come really close to pukking.)
anyway i got home. when i came in the door the dog was like YAY YOU'RE HOME and the gentleman was like are you too hot, do you need to stand in front of this fan, and i was like no, thanks, needgatoradeyogamatstretchinglegscrampsofdoom. and the cramps lasted like... 20 minutes. it was a baaaaad 20 minutes. but then i got it together and had a shower and some protein and stuff, and i'm wearing compression calf things and really, what was all that complaining about?
i'm a little confused about this cramping business, independent of being troubled by what it bodes. i THOUGHT i was hydrating and fueling (these are pompous verbs, i'm sorry) well, with my new handheld water bottle thingy (which is annoying but still better than every alternative) filled with nuun, and my little chewy things and my dried apricots for the last 5 miles. but i feel like maybe i'm a (TMI) saltier sweat-er than i might be, and so more electrolytes might be necessary? it also occurs to me that due to the hamstring injury business i've been quite careful with my lower leg strength training and especially taking it easy on the backs of the legs, so they could well be getting exhausted earlier than usual... (the sports med literature seems to be divided as to whether long run cramping comes from lack of sodium/stuff, straight dehydration or muscle fatigue, or some combo thereof.)
of course the bigger problem (to address the elephant i hear clearing his throat over by the couch, yeah i see that you are here in the room, Mr. Tusks) is that i have 6 weeks before i am purportedly running 10 more miles. let's just say when i came home today i could not have run 10 more miles. like: lassie says little billy is stuck in the well? great, send someone else. i'm late to catch a flight? eh, there'll be another one tomorrow. the house is on fire? let's think of it like a sauna. ... i wasn't very excited about a bunch more moving around, is my point.
and so of course i will admit to considerable nay-saying on the run home. 'what are you thinking?! you can't run a damn marathon?! you're a half marathon runner being a big idiot. why kill yourself to run two in a row? who does that? you don't come from a family of kenyan whippets, and there is no need for this behaviour. just lie down in that grass and call the gentleman to come pick you up in the car bearing chocolate croissants'. it was all very Blergh ... which is odd, because i don't usually get that kind of mental crazy in the moment, when i run. i get 'this is too hard, i can't do this right now ', but i don't usually get 'you are a big phony about this whole thing', and that's not a shift in perspective i was aiming for.
anyway, let's end this on a reasonably reasonable note. today i ran the third longest distance i've ever run, and i did the full amount i said i would do (more, actually, since 15 miles was the proscribed amount) and i don't think i made any injuries worse, and it only took me half an hour to feel human again afterwards. and those combined are an achievement, and i will not dwell on what this means for october 20th. i will trust in the plan-like thing i have, and i will get to wherever i get to, one melodramatic stumblecramp at a time.
p.s. i met two different colleagues for the first time on the trails today. and yes, i looked and felt my most professional; i believe in the second instance i was blowing my nose on my shirt at the precise instant she appeared.
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